Why Does the Call for Spanish Language Spec Sheets & Catalogs Go (Almost) Unanswered?
Several years ago, an LED lighting manufacturer targeting the residential market asked their network of independent reps what customers were asking for in the field. The answer had nothing to do with product design, quicker shipping, or affordability. It turned out that the most-sought-after items were marketing materials, catalogs, and spec sheets that were written in Spanish.
Upon hearing this, I conducted a casual survey among residential lighting reps nationwide and learned that there was indeed a demand for distributors to have Spanish literature available for customers as well as at least one employee on the sales floor who was bilingual. While the largest number of requests were understandably from retailers in the Sunbelt, reps whose territories include the cities of Chicago and New York City, as well as more distant states such as North and South Dakota voiced a similar desire.
According to the 2023 State of Hispanic Home Ownership Report, released by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP®) – in collaboration with research partners Freddie Mac, CoreLogic, and Realtor.com® – the Hispanic homeownership rate reached 49.5 percent, with a net gain of 377,000 Hispanic owner-households since 2022.
The report stated, “Today, more than 9.5 million Hispanic households own their own home. The remarkable growth of Hispanic homeownership has been a consistent trend, as the Hispanic homeownership rate has risen steadily for nearly a decade, despite experiencing some of the toughest housing market years.”
Furthermore, the report noted that “Latinos are driving household formation growth” by rapidly forming new households, a key precursor to homeownership. In 2023, Latinos saw a net gain of 450,000 new households and were responsible for a quarter (25.5 percent) of household formation growth in the U.S.
More importantly, the report concluded “as young Latinos age out of their parents’ homes and form new households, the total number of Latino households is expected to increase.” It is estimated that nearly one-third (29.5 percent) of Latinos are under the age of 18, with 2.2 million turning 18 within the next two years.
Interestingly enough, the report noted, “While Latinos are forming new households at a faster rate than other racial/ethnic demographics, they are also buying homes younger. The largest share of Hispanic homebuyers falls into the 25-34 age bracket, with 41.2 percent of Hispanic home purchases in 2022 going to someone under the age of 35. Additionally, 7.1 percent of Hispanic homebuyers were under the age of 25, a rate higher than non-Hispanic buyers.
The increased population of Spanish-speaking people in the U.S. should be indication enough that the availability of Spanish language literature and Spanish-speaking lighting experts can be an important asset in growing any business. After all, people buy from those they feel comfortable with and who can easily answer their questions. If you cater to this burgeoning segment of the population, they will become loyal customers and spread the word.
So why aren’t more manufacturers, reps, and distributors offering Spanish language spec sheets, catalogs, and marketing pieces?
Recently Dauer Manufacturing, a U.S.-based manufacturer of LED landscape lighting fixtures, lamps, and transformers, released its first full-line Spanish-language product brochure to meet the business needs of its customers and the diverse consumer base across the country.
If you are interested in reading the 2023 State of Hispanic Home Ownership Report, click here and download it for free.
And, if you are a manufacturer or distributor who offers marketing materials in Spanish or has bilingual employees on the sales floor to help Latino homeowners or business owners, I’d like to hear from you about how frequently this resource is utilized by your customers (send an email here).
